What's new

Aggressive v/s Mild

Hi! I am new to the forum, and somewhat new to wet shaving. I have a Merkur HD and I get great shaves with it. However, I am looking to expand my collection of razors. I am looking to get a Gillette Super Speed as they are affordable and easy to find. However, I look through the posts identifying the several different types (special thanks to AsylumGuido's post: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=56974), and I notice terms like 'aggressive' and 'mild.' I could not find any posts that would give me an understanding of what is meant by these terms. So, I turn to you all for help in explaining what is meant by an 'aggressive' shave/razor/blade as opposed to 'mild.'

Thanks for your help!
Ryan.
 
Last edited:
It refers to the angle of the blade. In an aggressive razor the blade will have a more "open angle".

Roughly put; an aggressive razor will give a closer shave, with fewer passes. But, it will be easier to cut yourself if you are not extra careful.
 
You will get some different opinions on this. Here's mine. :biggrin1:

Please look at the link in this post: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1048360&postcount=1, specifically the diagram in the middle of page 3 of 4.

I think a good definition of the aggressiveness of a razor is how much of the blade it allows to reach your beard and therefore skin. There are two measurements described in the referenced diagram that I think affect aggressiveness: exposure and span. Those two measurements pretty much determine aggressiveness by that definition. The greater these are, especially exposure, the more aggressive the razor.

Note that there is nothing identified as gap on that diagram. But judging by the instructions I've seen for measuring gap it would be the distance the blade is raised off of the guard. All other things being equal increasing the gap should also increase the exposure and span. With an adjustable, it is the gap that is adjusted and most other things do remain equal. When comparing different razors there are other factors in the head geometries that can affect these things.
 
Top Bottom